Great Minds Think Alike
by DogDemonsRock5
Summary: The crew sets out to find the rumored Love Stone! But a certain chef wants no part of it. Why? Find out! ZoSan
1. Chapter 1

Hello people! This is just something random I came up with xD plz read it though and review while you're at at!

Title: Great Minds Think Alike

Pairing: Zoro/Sanji

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece :( That would be Echiro Oda! But I do enjoy messing with the characters :D

Read on now please!

_It was absurd... one could not find their love through thin air, nor could they see them through a silly little gem. None the less, a certain pirate crew could not help but find this intriguing. Whether it be for riches, adventure, or love itself, everyone had their own reasons. Everyone except the chef of the crew, who wanted no involvement with such an artifact. Now why is that? Where did this ridiculous stone even come from? The gem laid on the icy ground, a brilliant glow surrounding it. The ocean blue eyed chef reached out in desperation for the glowing entity, gaining a closing distance with each passing second..._

Within the comfort of the kitchen, Nami and Robin drank tea at the dining table. The tea was quite soothing, something both woman needed. For one it was hot, unlike the weather outside had been lately, and on another note it tasted wonderful. A citrus flavor danced over the navigator's tongue whilst a mint flavor caressed the other's. Of course, they could only expect the best from their wonderful chef. Said chef hummed cheerfully to himself as he prepared the crew's lunch. He was currently making beef stew, a meal that could accommodate the icy weather they were having along their travels. Nami took another sip of her fine drink and proceeded in conversing with the one across from her.

"Do you by any chance happen to know anything interesting about the next island?" The read head questioned with curiosity.

Now nearly every island they've come across had _something_ entertaining, such as Luffy mindlessly attracting attention to himself, therefore causing an uproar of bounty hunters or even marines in that area to come after the entire crew. This, of course, leads to some battle and the eventual hiding of the crew until the log decides to reset itself. Nami would hardly call that 'interesting' though due to the fact it happens so often and begins with their captain's idiocy every time. For once, she hoped there would be an island with something different. Something that didn't include the involvement of enemies or a fight of some sort. Something like...

"As a matter of fact navigator san... I do believe something very interesting lies there." Robin said with a small smile. As she did other girl's eyes lit up.

"Really?" She asked eagerly.

As a response, the archeologist nodded her head. Across the room, Sanji paused in mid hum. If this was something his lovely Robin chwan found interesting then it must surely be so! He listened closely while he chopped vegetables.

"Tell me..." The brunette began to inquire. "Have you ever heard of an artifact known as the Love Stone?"

Nami tilted her head thoughtfully for a moment. Afterward she replied.

"No." She simply stated. "It sounds pretty corny though" She added. Robin gave a slight chuckle.

"Well its use happens to be fairly corny." After that said., she took a sip of her minty beverage.

Sanji began cutting the meat then and wondered himself what the stone's power involved. If it was like what was presented in many stories he had heard as a child, it would most likely reveal the wielder's true love, or even make some person fall in love with them, or some other nonsense. For a moment he paused and held his cigarette to allow smoke to escape his lungs. He and Nami silently waited for an answer. She then explained... Well he be damned.

"What?" Nami exclaimed in disbelief.

"It's true." Robin stated calmly with that smile still on her face. She then continued with her story.

As the story would go, on an island known as Crystalline Island, there was once a young lady that had fallen in love. She and her partner had lived very content lives with one another until one day, that partner left her. She was said to have been a very pure person and also a priestess. When she had gotten her heart torn into two, she wished one night that no good person would feel the pain she endured. Robin paused before continuing.

"So... What happened?" Nami urged.

A short silence dragged for what seemed like hours until the older woman continued.

That priestess passed away... An illness had taken over that was unknown so no cure could be found. It had been said that her wish had been left behind inside a small stone. This stone was a precious gem that she had always worn around her neck. Robin's smile turned rather sad as she spoke this. She looked thoughtfully down at her beverage.

"That's sad..." Nami said gently.

"Indeed it is..." The opposite end agreed.

Sanji continued with his dish without saying a word. The betrayal of a loved one was something he despised more than anything. That and starvation anyway.

"They say she owned a temple. And within that temple, the ones closest to her laid her necklace. Crystalline Island is what we now know today as Ice Cavern Island." Robin concluded her story.

Nami and Sanji remained silent for a bit. After hearing the origins of the stone, there was only one other important thing Nami just had to know, which was of course...

"So..." The navigator began. The blonde chef already new where this was going. So did Robin.

"How much is it worth?" The red head asked, or more like demanded, her eyes immediately taking the form of the sign of a beri.

Sanji sighed to himself. _'Of course...' _he thought weakly. Robin began conversing about the rumors of the price the stone held while Sanji got lost within his own thoughts.

A gem that can open the path to the one who truly loved you. When held, it can reveal to one who that someone is. Now Sanji could most certainly say that he loved every female who walked the earth. As much as that is true, it has not only become all woman. Ever since he had boarded the Going Merry, things had changed. Whether it be for better or worse, he could not quite determine, but if one were to be chosen, he would most likely say worse. This is because while he had found someone that he would truly relish in calling his lover, that someone would not feel the same way back. He hung his head. The blonde just knew Nami would want to find that gem, and if she suggested it to the crew, especially their captain, he and the rest would most likely be up for an adventure.

Say they had found this stone, and it even existed, well... everything would be ruined as Sanji thought it. If they were to discover this brilliant stone and it landed in the hands of a certain swordsman, who knows what would happen. Sanji was quite aware of his feelings, and was not one to deny love. One thing he happened to treasure was his friendship with that marimo and if Zoro were discover this little secret their bond could be broken. Sanji had slight hope for the crew to back down from this adventure and what hope he did have left went towards the damn gem not existing in the first place.

"So it's settled!" Nami slammed her hands on the table and sprang to her feet. Determination was clear in her brown eyes and a giant smirk added to the feature.

The sudden outburst snapped Sanji from whatever world he was previously in. he turned his head to see his mellorine grab her navy blue coat and run out of the galley. He sighed for the second time that afternoon.

"Is there something wrong cook san?"

Upon hearing Robin chwan's voice, Sanji quickly secluded any further feeling of discomfort and twirled in an odd fashion to where Robin was seated. Hearts bounced off him in every direction as a wide smile greeted his face.

"Why not at all my precious Robin chwan! It makes me radiate with joy knowing you care though! Care for another cup?"

Robin looked up at him with a somewhat skeptical look. After a few moments, the blonde began to feel a bit uneasy, especially when the opposite end smiled with that knowing look she always seemed to carry.

"It almost seemed like you were sulking for a moment."

Sanji's nervousness crept up on him to his misfortune. Before he could say something in defense though, the older woman spoke again.

"But I suppose it was only me. And no thank you for another cup, although it was quite delicious." She commented.

The chef did not even bother asking why she had let the previous topic slip so easily. Instead, he thanked her for the compliment. Afterwords, Robin retreated to her room to allow the cook to finish his work.

x0x0x0x0x0

Everyone seemed to be in quite an enjoyable mood that evening. Even Sanji seemed more content than usual. He had decided the best thing to do was believe the Love Stone or whatever didn't exist, and if it did than surely no power of any kind was hidden inside it. Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper dashed for the table in a race. Sanji chuckled at their childishness. Franky and Brook followed soon after. The skeleton hugged himself and shivered dramatically.

"It's certainly _bone chilling_ if I do say so myself! Yohoho!"

Ah Brook and his skull jokes... _Never funny..._ Sanji thought, but even if they were not funny he would smile anyway. Upon looking at the cyborg next to the musician, Sanji could feel himself chill to the bone!(no pun intended) _How he can possibly wear a freakin' speedo in this weather is BEYOND me!_ The cook shivered slightly from the thought and pushed it aside as the ladies returned from their rooms. They were greeted with excitement by Sanji as he pulled their seats out for them like the gentleman he was. Nami and Robin nodded their heads as thank yous and before the chef himself could take a seat, he noticed something, or rather someone, was missing. The slightly irritated chef growled at the empty chair.

"He's got some nerve..." He stated slowly before leaving to grab his coat and stomp out. The others continued protecting their plates from their gluttonous captain.

"1,998..."

Zoro lifted the drastically heavy weight above his chest continually.

"1,999..."

But he felt as though he had forgotten something... something important.

"Two thous-"

"Oi shit-head!"

Right... food. Zoro put the weight back onto its previous resting place and stood up, only to come face to face with an angry blue eye.

"Dinner time is EVERYONE'S time dumb-ass!" The blonde pointed angrily down in the direction of the galley.

"Now if you don't want to be minced, I highly suggest you join us." He spoke less aggressively.

"I'm shaking." The green head replied with an obvious sarcastic tone. Right before Sanji could retaliate with an insult, Zoro cut him off.

"Besides that dart-brow, I lost track of time. So calm down."

"Why you..." Sanji would have continued if the other man's body had not distracted him at the moment.

Although it was winter weather outside, it was clear Zoro was quite hot. Perspiration tantalized nearly every inch of his upper body. This allowed his chest to glisten with the lighting that the room held. Sanji traced the scar left by Mihawk in his mind. That dumb marimo swordsman was gorgeous! Zoro breathed heavier as a result of his exercise which only added to the already distracting figure. Sanji mentally shook his head. _Bloody idiot_, he cursed to himself. The blonde could already feel the heat rising to his cheeks and thanked the weather for making them slightly red already. He quickly dismissed their small argument with a wave of his hand and began walking away.

"Whatever moron, just hurry before our captain devours everything."

With that said, the cook climbed down the ladder leading down from the training room. Zoro stood staring, slightly bewildered at the sudden change in emotion giving off by his rival. He scratched the back of his head and sighed.

"Whatever..."


	2. Chapter 2

Whoooo next chap! XD I'm trying my best to get these up faster! As a note for this one, the scene with Luffy and Nami was originally LuNa but I changed it slightly so it could be taken as LuNa or just friendship :)

Title: Great Minds Think Alike

Pairing: Zoro/Sanji

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece :( That would be Echiro Oda! But I do enjoy messing with the characters :D

Now read! :3

_Within an infinite space which seemed to contain some type of fog or mist, Sanji stood directly across from the crew's first mate. The only thoughts that could cross the cook's mind was what exactly were they doing there, and where was the rest of their nakama? Sanji opened his mouth in attempt to speak, but for some unknown reason could not form any words. He stared at the man nearly twenty feet in front of him as in to look for an answer of some kind. As if on cue, the swordsman reached into his pocket and pulled out a small red stone that gave off a radiant glow. The stone itself was beautiful, but there was no time to admire it as Sanji was hit with realization. His face became slightly distort with fear. No... He weakly thought. He made a fast attempt to sprint towards Zoro, but unfortunately his whole body had become frozen. He could only watch as Zoro looked at the stone and remained absolutely silent. After the dreaded silence though, the chef heard a crackling noise. Soon, many crackling noises followed until the stone itself shattered, completely obliterated into hundreds of shards. Zoro, his face completely stoic, simply turned around and walked off into the mist. He had left the bewildered blonde standing in complete shock. Right then his legs gave out, and as Sanji fell, darkness enveloped him._

"Shit!" Sanji awoke and sat up in his bed startled.

He placed his hand to his head and ran his fingers through his lemon yellow hair. He felt a drop of sweat run down his right cheek and his breath was unsteady. After calming down and recollecting himself, Sanji fell back on the cushion. He had sprung back up as soon as he had fallen though because he had just realized he needed to make breakfast.

x0x0x0x0x0

"Usopp! Let's go Ice Fishing!" The boy with the straw hat yelled with excitement.

As a reply, Usopp slapped him upside the head while being careful as to not allow the paint from the brush he was currently holding get onto his canvas. inside Usopp's Workshop, Usopp sat on a stool in front of a large canvas that sat upon a wooden easel. Along his side on a small table lay multiple jars of a variety of paints. After slapping his overly hyper captain, he scolded him for his foolishness.

"You can't Ice Fish without any ice!"

"Aw why not? It's cold enough isn't it!"

The long nosed boy stared blankly at his idiot for a captain.

"You weren't very educated as a child were you?"

Then again, Usopp could still see him as a child. An overly grown one that is. He sighed and turned back to his work.

"We'll mess around some other time! The great Usopp sama is currently working on a masterpiece!"

The other end pouted and stomped his way out with his fists balled at his sides.

"Meh!" Luffy hung himself over the rail of the Thousand Sunny.

"Are we there yet?" He asked meekly to no one in particular.

"Bored?" another voice called.

Luffy stood up straight and looked next to him. There, Nami stood in her navy blue winter jacket. The blue had complimented her hair and as always she looked beautiful.

"We should be there within an hour, so don't worry." She said with a warm smile.

The other boy's face carried a tint of red, and he made a wide grin.

"Okay!"

It was not too often he got to be alone with his navigator like this. He loved these moments as did Nami herself. As cold as she most certainly seemed to most, Nami had developed a deep bond with her beloved captain. She ruffled his dark hair, flipping back the straw hat that lay on top, and walked away.

"Don't forget we've got an adventure!... and a fortune to find." Nami grinned as she went into the galley. Luffy watched her as she left and if it was anymore possible, his smile grew. He slammed his hands back on the rail and faced the ocean, wind blowing through his raven locks of hair.

"Yosh! Adventure!"

x0x0x0x0x0x

"Hey..."

Sanji was wasing dishes after lunch and had his back turned to the table. Zoro was currently sitting at said table while drinking a bottle of booze he had gotten for his previous meal. He set the bottle down and looked towards the curly-brow chef.

"What Ero-cook?" Zoro replied.

Sanji disregarded that last comment. All he needed was to know whether Zoro had actually believed in the power of the treasure they were after.

"You really believe love can be found inside some gem?"

The swordsman raised a brow at this, and for a few seconds, thought about it before taking another swig of his alcohol.

"Who the hell knows." He began.

"I've seen more than my fair share of weird things in this world." He finished off his booze to the very last drop before making a disappointed face at the loss.

'Where did that question come from?" The moss-head asked suddenly.

"Nowhere really..." The blonde lied.

"Just wondering is all." He ended.

Zoro gave the mugiwara chef a suspicious look. _He's been acting weird..._ Of course, the golden eyed swordsman wouldn't complain. As much as he loved pissing the other off, he never minded moments of peace with no fighting or insulting. However, how he felt about their situation was another story. From outside, Luffy's over enthusiastic voice could be heard.

"LAND!" He shouted vigorously.

Everyone came outside as well and indeed, a shadow of an island could be seen in the far distance of the middle of the grand sea. After pulling straws, it was decided who would stay and guard the ship while the others went on their little adventure. To Chopper and Usopp's dismay, they were not given this opportunity. Instead, the two chosen to stay was Robin and Brook. Although trusting a perverted skeleton with a gorgeous lady seemed like a terrible idea, the crew knew that the woman could be very intimidating, so everything would be just fine. Nami was a little disappointed at this, but regardless did not dwell on it. She always had Luffy there so she couldn't really complain. After the decision had been made the crew resumed what they were previously doing. Sanji only thought three words out loud as he walked inside.

"Here we go..."

x0x0x0x0x0x

"A temple?" A pair of twins asked the captain of the Mugiwara crew. Their voices instantly became filled with worry.

"You don't mean... _that _temple do you?" The twin with the short brown hair questioned.

"Why on earth would you want to go there? Don't you know that place is haunted!" The twin with the long blonde hair added.

Luffy place his hand under his chin and thought about there words. After a moment, along with a hum, he simply asked.

"So?"

His nakama who stood behind all face palmed at once. _Moron! _They thought in unison.

"So!" The pair of twins yelled together.

"Listen..." Luffy's voice had suddenly became a lot more serious.

His head was low with his hat covering his face casting a shadow.

"For the sake of the treasure... an epic adventure..."

His head immediately shot up as he spoke his last words with determination clearly heard in his voice.

"And the promised feast from my trusting navigator!..." Okay... so the term 'serious' would hardly apply to that situation.

_Trusting? _Zoro thought, mentally slapping his idiot captain.

_She promised him a freaking feast? _ Sanji thought in return. Now don't get him wrong, the chef was more than willing to make a special dinner for his crew. It was just his bottomless pit for a captain that made things somewhat difficult. Luffy continued his extremely short speech... If it could even be called a speech that is.

"We need to find this temple place so we can find this necklace thing!" He concluded.

If it was not for the fact that Luffy was their captain, Sanji would have gave him a nice hard kick to the back of his head. _ As if he doesn't already have enough brain damage._ The blonde thought annoyed. The twins stood and glanced at each other and then back to the most odd pirate crew the had ever seen. Nervously, the two pointed in the same direction.

"Thanks!" The raven haired boy grinned.

"Those ladies were gorgeous." Sanji muttered out loud.

"And twins! I should have done the talking dammit..." He pouted.

Zoro looked behind his shoulder at the sulking cook.

"Don't worry..." The swordsman said, his voice filled with compassion... wait what?

Sanji looked up at him. Was that marimo actually being... nice? Suddenly the chef had that feeling of having butterflies flutter around in one's gut. This had become something that had actually happened more often than he would like. Unfortunately that feeling had immediately sunk.

"You probably would've gotten rejected anyways!" Zoro finished with a cocky laugh. He threw his head back a bit as he did so. Of course it was too good to be true. _Damn him!_ Sanji cursed to himself.

"You wanna say that to my face bastard!" The irritated chef flipped the swordsman off with his teeth bared, a cancer stick crushed between them.

"Knock it off you two or I'll place you both in debt for life!" Nami intervened.

At first he hesitated, but Sanji complied with her demand. The crew continued walking for some time.

"Ugh... captain bro make it stop!" The cyborg couldn't help it. Someone, ANYONE, had to make the horrendous voice surrounding them come to an end.

"My voice is beautiful!" Luffy snapped.

"Brook would be ashamed..." Nami hung her head.

"The islands in the south are warm~!... Their heads get really hot~!... And they're all idiots~!..."*

Sanji most certainly did not need this right now. He brought his free hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose. The blonde couldn't help but keep thinking back to the previous night, and how shaky he had felt afterwords. He was pretty sure he had no gift to see into the future, but if he did he would probably be screwed.

_The only thing I don't get is..._ he thought, then unconsciously said in a low voice.

"What does it mean?"

He could already feel a headache coming on from the much abusive thought. That along with the obnoxious singing that is. Speaking of which, that singing seemed to have faded.

"I'm pretty sure my back can't talk back to you dart-brow."

The sudden voice snapped Sanji from his thoughts. He glared daggers at the one responsible for it. His cheeks flushed slightly from embarrassment. How could he have been careless and gotten lost in his own thoughts again?

"Sh- shut up." Was all the blonde stammered.

"We'd probably be further with them if it wasn't for your dragging."

Sanji's face became puzzled for a moment before realizing that they had in fact fallen behind quite a bit. Luffy's 'beautiful' voice could be heard though, so the rival pair could not have been that far behind. The cook picked up the pace, as did Zoro.

"No one asked you to wait" Sanji muttered.

He didn't say it with much aggression though because he knew it made him a bit happy that the other man stayed behind, but he could not help but wonder why. Suddenly, the man in front of him slowed down again, but continued walking nonetheless.

"Ya' know..." The green head began.

"You've seemed pretty out of it lately."

Sanji discarded his crushed cigarette and reached into his pant pocket for a new one.

"Please..." The chain smoker said uncaring.

"That's ridiculous. Why do you even ca-agh!"

Before he could finish that sentence, he ungracefully slipped on a thick large patch of ice. Thankfully, he had been caught before the impact could be dealt by none other than Zoro, who clearly had a good sense of balance on slick surfaces. _If only his sense of direction was that good..._ The thinner man thought briefly before regaining his composure. Unfortunately his face was now fully flushed.

"Dammit..." He cursed to himself.

How could he have been so careless? Again! And for that moss-head to be right on top of it!

"I can say the same to you!" The chef let out in defense.

As a reply, Sanji had not received one. Instead, Zoro just stood there and said no word. Not only that, but the stronger man still had his grip on the cook. Sanji became quite bewildered at the action, especially when he noticed the other man's face remained stoic.

"Yeah..." Was the only audible word that retreated the swordsman's lips. Lips which, by the way, looked extremely soft. Sanji mentally shook his head and dismissed further thought of it before separating himself and Zoro.

"Er... we should catch up." Was the only thing the chef could manage to say in attempt to get out of the suddenly awkward situation.

It did not take much longer to once again be in the group of the Mugiwara pirates. Too many thoughts raced through Sanji's mind like an endless figure eight speed track. Constantly, that feeling of being held by _him_ relayed over and over. The center of the chef's thoughts simply continued walking as if nothing even happened. The nerve of him! The only thing that made the situation seem brighter was the cease of their captain's tune.

"Yahoo!" Luffy cheered and raised his arms in the air.

"We're here! We're here!"

"Yes Luffy we're here." The navigator said with less enthusiasm.

"This place gives me the creeps!" Usopp shivered.

"Ya' think?" Replied Franky.

Indeed, the temple could have given any normal person the creeps. Here they were, hiking through woods filled with virtually nothing but snow and ice, and are now standing on dry grounds that surrounded the temple!what was even more peculiar was the light that emitted from the entrance of the structure. It was a reddish light that could be seen. That must have been from the stone! Nami cupped her chin.

"Hmm... something seems wrong."

"Yosh! Treasure!" The captain beamed. He dashed up the temple steps.

"Wait a minute Luffy!" Nami yelled and reached her hand out.

"Ugh that idiot." Zoro said in frustration as he sprinted after the shorter boy.

Everyone followed directly after. By the time they found Luffy, he was already at a pedestal, and before they could stop him, he nabbed the gem off it... Nothing happened.

"Heh heh!" The raven hair boy grinned.

The others came to a halt as they had noticed that indeed, nothing weird had happened.

"Yeah! That was easy!" Luffy said while giving the small stone a toss.

Unfortunately for him his victory was cut rather short a small area of flooring beneath him immediately gave out via a trap door. This caused him to fall straight through.

"LUFFY!" The crew shouted.

Author's note: *Heh yes that would be Luffy's beautiful Baka Song he was singing xD


	3. Chapter 3

Oh my gosh finally Dx I'm so busy but at least I got the next chap up now! xD

Title: Great Minds Think Alike

Pairing: Zoro/Sanji

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece :( That would be Echiro Oda! But I do enjoy messing with the characters :D

Read...read... read! :D

"Wh-what do we do now!" Usopp cried out.

Chopper hid behind the sharp shooter's leg while shivering.

"L-L-Luffy..." The little reindeer spoke with a shaky tone.

"Everyone, calm down!" Nami began.

Usopp and the small doctor went silent yet remained shaky.

"Now, although it may not seem like it, there must be some way to reopen this door." Nami pointed to the spot their reckless captain stood less than a minute ago. Sanji twirled in front of the group.

"My Nami swan is always right~!" He said enthusiastically.

"Che, moron..." Zoro whispered to himself.

Apparently the chef had heard that little remark though, and in a second he was directly in the swordsman's face.

"What was that?" The blonde inquired while glaring.

"You heard me." The other man replied.

"What did I tell you two!" The navigator knocked them both over their heads.

"Now everyone! Look for a switch of some sort that could possibly trigger the trap!" The woman ordered the crew.

Sanji and Zoro rubbed their heads in order to relieve the current throbbing they both felt. Soon after, they began to help search. While the rest of the crew continued looking though, a certain swordsman decided there was a more efficient method that could be used to solve their predicament. He walked up to the pedestal, and with a quick slice with Kitetsu, the pedestal split in two.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" The red head scolded.

It was not until the trap door opened that Zoro replied.

"Wasn't what I thought. It was Kitetsu..." He simply stated.

Nami and Sanji stood, mouths slightly agape.

"Alright Zoro bro! The blue haired cyborg cheered.

"We're coming Luffy!" The long nose shouted into the dark pit.

"Well hurry up already!" A voice echoed back, unmistakeably their captain's.

"At least he's alright." Nami said to herself in relief.

One by one, each member made their way through the deep hole before the door could close once again.

x0x0x0x0x

Every crew member could not help but admire what was beneath the grounds they were previously standing on. It was no wonder the name of the island became Ice Cavern Island! Luckily there was a path that was fairly dry. On the downside, the stalactites above proved them to have entered a rather dangerous area. A sudden shattering of what seemed to be ice echoed behind them from a rather far distance. They turned their heads.

"You hear that?" Franky asked.

"Probably just a few stalactites. Be careful." Nami told the crew.

"Or it's a giant monster that wants to eat our faces!" Usopp yelled dramatically.

As soon as he yelled that, a piece of ice fell from the ceiling and shattered right next to him. He leaped behind Sanji. _Why me?_ The cook thought.

"Shut up!"Nami hissed. "You wanna get us killed? Sound easily bounces off walls inside of caverns dummy."

Sanji pushed the cowering sharp shooter back towards the front of the group.

"Yeah Usopp. What would Soge King do?" Sanji said with slight enthusiasm.

"Yeah!" Luffy and Chopper whispered eagerly.

"Soge King wouldn't be afraid of something like this!" Luffy patted Usopp's back with a little more force than necessary.

"That's right!" The adorable reindeer added.

Those two could certainly be oblivious. Of course everyone else but them would know Soge King was in fact Usopp himself. Nami sighed.

"Yes yes, now c'mon!" She continue walking along the path as the others followed.

_Ugh... more ice._ The curly brow groaned. Just what he needed, another area of unstable terrain. Although he had actually contemplated 'accidentally' slipping just to once again be caught by-_ Don't think about it Sanji._ The blonde thought disappointingly. What was the point of fantasizing anyway if it would never be? Sanji had already come up with his own conclusion as to why the stone shattered in his little dream. The answer was in fact quite simple. It was an omen, a terrible sign that his friendship with Zoro would break, just as the gem itself did, if he had discovered the chef's love for him. This was no time for Sanji to be sulking though, for he had to focus more on the task ahead, and that task was preventing that marimo from getting his hands on that stone!

"There must've been sudden disappearances or something. That would explain why people would think this place was haunted. But really, how could there have possibly been dry grounds above this place? " Nami spoke in a low tone.

"It's almost as if..." Sanji began.

"Time itself stopped." Zoro finished off the cook's sentence.

"... Yeah." The other man said ignoring the fact he was cut off.

The crew went silent as the thought went through their minds. Afterwords, The lady spoke again.

"Luffy, lemme see that stone." She said as she held her hand out to him.

Without hesitation, the captain did as he was told.

She observed the gem, rubbing her thumb over the facets. Now she had seen plenty of gems, and she most certainly had a good eye for jewels. After much thought, she came up with a conclusion as to what it was.

"Of course it would be a fake." The woman hung her head in disappointment.

"But what about that light?" Zoro intervened.

"Look here." Nami held the gem closer to him as she pointed to the center of it.

Due to the fact they were in a lighter place, the light could not be shown as well. She explained how a small light was hidden inside of the stone.

"Can I see it Nami?" Franky asked the jewel thief.

Upon taking the stone, the speedo wearing cyborg had in fact noticed the little object inside of it.

"How many of these do you think have been made to capture thieves?" He questioned aloud.

"Who cares?" The swordsman stated. "We're here to find the real one anyway right?"

"Right." Nami added.

As the crew continued their walk, the shattering of ice could once again be heard in the distance. Usopp quickly turned around. As he did, the rest followed suite.

"Not again!" Usopp exclaimed softly.

"Would you knock it off?" Nami slapped him upside the head.

"No monster is going to come and attempt to eat your freaking face off! Just keep walking."

Withstanding the fear which engulfed the poor sharpshooter, he resumed his walk with the others.

x0x0x0x0x0x

The tall brunette lounged in the woman's dorm as she drank her coffee. She flipped the page of a book she happened to find that held the historical significance of the island they had currently docked at. The skeleton inside the galley was playing his violin. Musical tunes swept through the halls of the Thousand Sunny.

"Such a lovely song..." Robin said to herself.

After reading much about the stone and the island itself, the blue eyed woman had become aware of more things she rather should have before allowing her crew to tread off on their adventure. Such things included the spirit that had lived underneath the land for centuries. Some had apparently believed this deity consumed the lives of many people in order to protect the stone and its secrets. Whether such a being could truly exist under such a quiet island could not be determined by the archeologist. She herself believed the stone existed as she did with many other fathomed things.

"Hope they find it." Robin spoke with a gentle tone.

Now Robin had become aware of most situations that occurred in the Mugiwara crew, and as such, their chef's was no exception. She had thought about it for quite some time, but could only watch as she tried to figure it out. Luckily this stone, if it existed, could be the key that would put her thoughts to rest. This was the boost Robin truly believed could solve Sanji's problem, as well as Zoro's. She gently closed her book and stared out of the window and to the sky.

"I'm sure they can figure it out." She smiled warmly.

x0x0x0x0x

The golden eyed swordsman went directly into his fighting stance as the rest of his crew followed Nami down the path. Each member ran as fast as they could to leave what lay behind for Zoro and the cook as well. What had in fact lay before the two was none other than a giant two headed beast. Neither one of the men could even think of where this thing could have derived from and was not planning on trying to figure it out. The monster had the form of that of a ginormous Venus Fly Trap, except an extra stem connected from the body and contained another grotesque head at the top. The body looked to be the shape of a giant bud and was completely made of ice. From below, vines gave it support and constantly lashed at the beast's opponents. Wait what about the monster that wanted to eat everyone's face?

_The crew continued their way down the path within the colossal ice caverns. As they did though, the path became narrower. This lead to the eventual creation of a single line. That is when another sound echoed not too far away. The shattering of ice. Except this time, it not only caught Usopp's attention, but the rest of the Mugiwara pirates'. _

"_I-I don't think it's safe here!" The sharpshooter suggested._

"_Do NOT start with this aga-" Suddenly, a blood curling scream shot through the air, cutting her off as she spoke._

_Before Nami or even the rest had time to think, vines shot from what dry ground there was behind them. Any extra one's dealt damage in the area around them, crushing and shattering the ice that rose from the grounds on both sides of the path. Stalactites fell from the ceiling of the giant cave as well, crashing to the ground as the crew members dodged them. Immediately the vines sank back into the earth, and as they did so, Zoro dashed with his swords drawn. _

"_Go on!" He shouted as he ran._

"_The path is too narrow. I'll catch up!"_

"_Idiot! He get's lost a straight path!" The chef said after as he ran after the other man._

"_You better come back!" Nami shouted._

"_Of course Nami swan!" Sanji replied confidently._

"_Yeah! A monster! Wonder what it looks like!" Their captain cheered vigorously._

"_We're not staying to find out dummy!" The read headed woman dragged the boy as they frantically ran ahead._

Oh sweet irony.

"Why is long-nose right when we don't want him to be?" The swordsman grunted as he leaped to dodge a vine.

He slice it as he jumped, and right away, it regenerated. This thing would not be easy to beat.

"For once I think I agree moss-head." Sanji replied as he too dodged a rather sharp vine, as they were covered in thorns.

Fortunately for them, the giant creature cleared much ice and other debris. This gave them the advantage of a larger terrain to battle on. Unfortunately, the cook still had a little problem with the slick surface that remained. The ground did not prove to be a suitable surface to kick from. He decided it best to just jump into the air and deal his blows then and there instead, so he did. He used each vine that blocked his way as support and leaped above the beast's head before dealing a great kick to one of its heads that would surely knock it out. As it thrashed downward, Zoro used the opportunity to get his shine in the light. With a fluent motion, he sliced the head right off the stem, and green slime shot out of it.

"That's more like it." A well known grin appeared on Zoro's face.

He could not soak in victory for much longer though because the stem that had lost its head immediately reconnected to it and it rose once again as if nothing ever happened. The blonde became irritated at this and without thinking, pushed off the ground as hard as he could to deal another hit. Using the same strategy as before, he again managed to get above one of the two heads. Too bad for him that monster was not as stupid as it may have looked.

"Hey! Moron. Behind you!" The swordsman yelled at the other man.

Not expecting this to happen, Sanji turned his body as fast as he could to kick the vine away but was too late. The long vine wrapped around his right leg and gripped it tight, dangling the chef in mid air. He gave of a moan of pain as the vine's thorns dug into his skin. He glared at the creature underneath him and cursed it.

"Guess there's only one way." Zoro said to himself as he prepared an attack.

"Would you hurry up already!"

Not another thought had crossed the blonde's mind before he was violently thrown head first at a pair of stalagmites that stood from the ground farther away. The other man became immediately aware of this, and without hesitation, punished the monster for its action. As Zoro stood up straight after the attack, it was clear what damage had been dealt. The monster was diced. Completely minced into at least a hundred pieces. The swordsman did not even have to look back to know it was over as he heard the cry of his victim as it plummeted to the cold hard surface, its body shattering into hundreds of shards. He removed the bandana from his head and ran to where the careless cook was tossed. When he had found him, Sanji was already unconscious. Blood seeped through his black pants on his right leg and trickled down the left side of his forehead.

"You idiot." Zoro stated.


	4. Chapter 4

Yaaaaaaaaaaaaays next chapter! :D Read/review/whatever it is you people love doing most! xD

Title: Great Minds Think Alike

Pairing: Zoro/Sanji

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece :( That would be Echiro Oda! But I do enjoy messing with the characters :D

Whoooooo keep reading please! X3

"_Lani... Lani..." A gentle voice spoke._

_If Sanji had not known better he would say an angel was speaking to him... maybe it was. Sanji held a hand up to the blurred face of said angel. Through the blurry vision he can tell she had long light purple hair that draped onto him. _

"_It's Sanji... not Lani." He spoke quietly._

"_Could you be... my guardian angel? Am I dead? If so I can at least die seeing a beautiful image." The blonde said with a smile before closing his eyes once again._

"_Lani...Lani..." The angelic voice spoke, gradually getting louder._

"_Lani!..._Hey, SANJI!"

The voice had suddenly become gruff and Sanji knew right away who it belonged to. As he fluttered his eyes open he noticed he was laying on something rather soft. That something had been Zoro's own thigh. One other thing he had noticed was the fact his hand was placed on the other man's cheek the way the cook placed it to the angel in his little dream. Right away he sat up straight and pulled his hand away slightly blushing from embarrassment.

"S-Sorry bout that." He managed to mutter.

He flinched a bit as he had felt a sudden pain in his leg. The cook had noticed though that the bleeding had at least stopped, which was a good thing. Next he placed his hand on his head in attempt to relieve the ache he had currently felt.

"It's not serious so don't worry." The swordsman stated.

"Good, but my head is throbbing." The chef stumbled to his feet, not aware that Zoro was careful as to not allow him to fall.

"Just what the hell was that thing?" Sanji continued.

"I don't have a clue. I killed it though... or so I thought."

"What do you mean?" The blonde eyed the other skeptically.

Zoro sighed as he began to speak again.

"You were knocked out before I finished him off and I started carrying you down the path after. I heard the sound of that thing again though and started running from it. And to make matters worse I guess you could say-"  
>"We're completely lost." Sanji finished while scratching the back of his head.<p>

Of course that moss-head would get them lost on a straight path! Rather than fuming about it though, Saji kept his cool and just tried to stay grateful for even being alive. He pulled a cancer stick out of his pocket and lit it, taking a nice long drag. Smoking was always something that helped him think in these situations.

"Okay how exactly did you manage to stray off of a straight path?" He inquired.

"Well two separate paths eventually showed up and I chose the left one. After more running though I decided to take a break."

Ah so the crew chose the right path. Well that could explain why they have not shown up yet. Luckily for the two though, the path was much wider, and icy stalagmites did not threaten them in that area. They decided best to just keep walking down that path until they came across anything. They kept their guard up and neither of them said much throughout the walk. Sanji was too busy getting lost in his own thoughts again.

Okay, so Zoro got rid of that monster, temporarily, and carried Sanji. Then he was actually kind enough to let the chef use his leg as a pillow. Why on earth was that marimo acting so weird lately? Maybe he had eaten some weird unknown fruit on the last island, or somehow ended up with temporary brain damage. Whatever it was, it did not help Sanji's feelings die down. That was when another thought struck him. Perhaps it was Thriller Bark! Could the moss-head actually be repaying him for knocking the chef unconscious in front of Kuma? Or was it that Zoro actually just wanted to get along with him more? Maybe the small amounts of kindness were a sign that he wanted to get closer to the Mugiwara chef. Whatever the occasion, Sanji made full sure not to get his hopes up. He was thankful for the kindness the swordsman had showed, although he would never show or admit it, and decided to just leave it at that.

And then there was that angel the blonde had seen after he was knocked out. He did not have to see clearly to know she had a gorgeous feature. He smiled thinking about the beautiful woman and what she might have actually looked like. He tried his best to push those thoughts aside though as he recalled the name she had so desperately called out to him. _Who's Lani?_ Sanji thought, his hands clenched in his pockets, fumbling with the lighter and pack of smokes that lay inside. Maybe this Lani was a friend of her's or even her sibling or lover. He had also wondered if the angel and this Lani person were somehow connected to this place, as he could not think of ever meeting a gorgeous lady with such colored hair in his past. That thought had came off as rather creepy to him though so he tossed that aside as well. Apparently the cook was too much in a daze as a crackling sound was heard above him. Before he knew it, a green haired swordsman pushed him out of the way of an ice crystal that had fallen from the ceiling.

"Be careful moron!" He scolded the curly-brow for being so careless.

Sanji was about to retaliate when he had suddenly become aware of their position. Zoro's body covered him, as he had pushed them both at the ground away from the stalactite. The swordsman was on all four and Sanji's cheeks reddened again before trying to slip away from underneath. His plan however had faulted when the man above gripped onto him. Zoro's face had become serious and Sanji became even more nervous.

"Listen cook, there's something I gotta tell you, and I know this is pretty direct but-"

"Heeeeeey! Zoroooo! Sanjiiiii!" The voice of none other than their captain called.

Zoro immediately got up and walked towards the group, cursing himself along the way. Sanji however just sat there bewildered. Great, another weird action he would have to think about. Pushing himself up, he brushed invisible dust off his sleeves and took a nice long drag. Afterwords, the chef reunited with his crew to continue their search.

"Hey get this! There was this wall right? And it had weirdo patterns on it!" The raven haired boy said excitedly as he made odd hand motions.

"Did you try to see what was behind it?" Sanji asked.

"We couldn't! It had weirdo markings on it too! We didn't know what it meant though so we figured we'd find you guys first!"

"Thanks for thinking about us." Zoro said sarcastically.

"No problem!" Luffy thumbed up, obviously not catching on to the other's tone.

"If only Robin were here." Nami sighed.

"Yeah, she probably could've deciphered it or something." Franky added.

"Sanji, your leg!" The little reindeer pointed out suddenly.

"Uh...Q-quick! We need to call a doctor! No wait!" Chopper began panicking as usual.

"I'm fine Chopper it's just a scrape." Sanji reassured the small doctor.

"Luckily I was saved by this weird moss creature." He stated as the others held their giggles. Zoro was not amused.

"What! A moss creature? Where?" Chopper asked.

Even Luffy knew what it was and patted the reindeer on his big pink hat.

"They say the moss creature only lives underground! It's genderless and likes to eat-OUCH!" Luffy rubbed the back of his head where his first mate had just punched him. Hey, the kid deserved it, although Zoro would not have minded laying a fist in Sanji's as well. He held back though as to not allow a fight to erupt. Chopper just tilted his head with a small hum.

They continued hiking to their destination as they rambled about things the cook could barely hear beyond his own thoughts. Alright, so that marimo was obviously trying to tell him something, and for him to actually say it with such a serious tone, it must have been something important. Well the first thing that came to the blonde's one-tracked mind was a confession, but he mentally slapped himself for it, as he knew he could be no more than a friend to Zoro... but... was there any real proof of that? _Well, he has been acting strange lately._ Sanji thought. Although, there were just too many thoughts fluttering around in that mind of his to actually think straight. Before he could fall deeper into his thoughts though he and the crew stopped in front of a massive stone wall. Within it could be seen the cracks that formed the shape of a giant door with two sides. Along the edge of the door, odd large symbols were displayed. Only, these symbols did not seem very odd, as Sanji could actually see them as part of his own language!

"What's so weird about these markings?" Sanji questioned. This earned him a skeptical look from the others.

"What do you mean?" The navigator asked raising a brow.

The chef stepped forward and placed his hand on the left side of the door where the symbols began. After a moment, he began to read what was written.

"As my love became frozen, so had time itself. It will not continue without you. I send my love to you as you travel the vast seas. I write this in hopes you receive this message. Like the tides, love is a force that constantly pulls one in, as it did me. I wait for no one but you my beloved Koro."

The remaining crew went silent, currently shocked as to how this message was so easily read by their cook. Luffy grinned and jumped in the air a few times.

"That was awesome Sanji!" It did not even seem as though their captain cared about what the blonde just read, just the fact that he could read it.

"But I don't get it. It's written in our language, so how could you not read it?" The chef asked a bit perplexed.

"What're you talking about?" Nami asked in return, just as perplexed.

A sudden pain jolted through Sanji's head before he could continue speaking. He gripped at it with his right hand and his cigarette was forgotten in the other.  
>"Sanji! What's wrong?" The thief became worried, as did the others, and walked towards him.<p>

With that being the last thing he could hear, the cook was sent into complete darkness for the second time that day as he fell to the floor with a thud.

x0x0x0x0x0x

_When Sanji had reawakened, the beautiful image of his 'angel' was seen. It seemed as if he was seeing a flashback of some sort. The purple haired woman had a radiant smile, and she had golden eyes that glistened to complete the feature. She ran into the arms of another woman. This other woman had blonde hair, very similar to Sanji's, as it draped over the left half of her face. She was shorter than the angel and had the same smile the other held. She captured the angel into a tight embrace as she stroked her hair. The blonde had green eyes and paler skin as well. The two seemed so very happy with each other. When they separated, the angel put a necklace over the head of the other. The necklace held a gem that seemed so familiar to the chef._

_With a sudden flash of light, another scenario was showed. A few men, their faces half shown, grinned wickedly. With another flash, the angel was hit from behind and fell. The two horrid men took her away, as their ship could be seen in the distance of the ocean. The blonde woman was in the next scene, falling to her knees. Tears tread down her cheeks and onto the ground. She truly seemed to be in agony. Before Sanji could process what was happening, her necklace glowed, and soon only the gem could be seen. Slowly, it faded away..._

Talk about having a seizure moment. Sanji's eyelids fluttered open, his visible blue eye seeming dazed.

Lazily, he sat up while holding a hand against his head. The crew withdrew sighs of relief, and Chopper and Usopp hugged him.

"You're alright!" Chopper exclaimed.

"We thought you were gone!" Usopp yelled dramatically as always.

"Give him space idiots!" Nami scolded the two.

"Ah... My princess, it fills me with glee knowing you care!" Sanji stood up with a rather large smile.

Sanji chanced a glance at Zoro, who did actually seemed to have a hint of relief on his face. This was shown from the slight grin on his face. It seemed as if he already knew the cook would be alright. Luffy just kept grinning as if nothing had happened. That's probably because he thought the same as his first mate.

"Never do that again cook-bro!" The cyborg sobbed.

"I won't Franky." Sanji said reassuringly.

It did not take long for him to put the puzzle that was his dream together. Right away he told his fellow crew members his thoughts and weird dreams. He had said that the reason he was mistaken as a person named Lani was because he looked similar to her. Then he started to mention how his 'angel' may have actually been the Koro woman depicted in the message. It seemed odd how Sanji was the one who had suddenly seemed telepathic in regards to this place, but as it had been heard that said place was haunted, it suddenly did not seem as odd. The chef rambled about the two maybe being the lovers Robin mentioned, and how Koro had not left Lani, but rather was taken away from her! The crew just stood there, nodding their heads. Luffy was probably the only one not actually listening.

"So what the hell are we supposed to do now?" Zoro grunted in frustration.

"It's not as if this Koro girl will just suddenly appear. I don't know how we'll be able to-" The screech that was oh so familiar cut the Navigator off once again.

"Damn." Sanji let out.

"Not again." The swordsman added.

"Yosh! I finally get to see this thing!" The captain cheered.

"I thought you had KILLED IT!" Nami shreiked.

Sanji chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Er... Complications Nami swan!"

"It's going to eat our faces and use our bones as toothpicks!" The sharpshooter yelled.

"That's nasty bro." Franky stated.

Well, there was only one thing to do, and that was to rid themselves of this bloody monster once and for all!


	5. Chapter 5

Omg sooooooo busy! Band, band, and more band! And school! XD But here it is! Finally! Next chappy! Plz enjoy :3

Title: Great Minds Think Alike

Pairing: Zoro/Sanji

Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece :( That would be Echiro Oda! But I do enjoy messing with the characters :D

Yeah! Read it, read it, READ IT! :D

"Did I ever mention how much I really hate this thing?" The Mugiwara chef asked as he dodged a spiked vine.

"Hate is a pretty strong word, Sanji-kun..." The navigator replied as she pulled out her Clima-Takt. "And I agree!" She ended while whacking a vine with her weapon.

The Mugiwara crew were now face to face with the monster that Zoro had previously 'slayed'_, _and was now finding it very difficult to rid of it once and for all. They smashed it, cut it, blew it up, the list could go on, but the damn thing would just regenerate every time it was torn down! Not only that, but the debris around them had worsened, causing even more obstacles in their fighting path.

"I don't understand." Franky spoke, frustration clearly heard off his tongue.

"Neither do I." Nami replied.

"Gyah! How many times are we going to have to kill this thing before it actually dies!" Usopp added.

Sanji was thinking the same thing. It wasn't like the crew could just leave it and run! It was fight or go home, and going home was definitely NOT an option for this pirate crew. Asides from that, there was also something else that had been bothering Sanji. It may or may not have seemed like it to the others, but the blonde could have sworn he felt as though someone or something was watching him, almost piercing through him. Unfortunately he could not place his hand on the matter due to the fact there was a more important matter at hand. As much as he tried to ignore this sudden feeling though, it seemed to grow even stronger, and before he knew it, he found himself actually stopping just to take a glance around him.

Nothing... There was no sign of anything or being that was in the same area as him and his Nakama. Deciding it was just his mind playing some kind of trick on him, he pushed the thought aside and chose to go full out on this blasted beast instead. He spun on his feet, and the speed at which he did caused heat to rise in his legs, and eventually, set his right leg ablaze. He dashed at the the two-headed creature at full speed, and leaped as high as he could with the space provided. Following a graceful front-flip was a mighty kick that not only smashed and melted the ice body, but set the heads on fire! His Nakama stood still for the moment, slightly out of breath from their attacks, to watch what the monster had in store. It fell to the ground, which contained a fine large crack from the impact. Sanji stepped away while panting, and cringed slightly from the sting that arose in his leg. He had realized something from what he had just done though. That ominous feeling he had felt ceased... until the beast once again decided to rise.

Maybe it was this monster that made him feel this way. Sanji thought about it and realized that the creature did seem to be the center of that aura. As he thought further, a tremendous shock bolted through his body, one that was similar to the what he had previously felt before passing out. Emotions... sadness, anger, loneliness, love... These are what the cook felt for no more then three seconds before he had realized something truly depressing. These emotions, these feelings, that aura, they all came from it, the beast.

"STOP!" The blonde yelled desperately to his crew.

The crew looked at him as though he had eight heads.

"What! Why?" Nami said angrily.

"Luffy..." Sanji said with a stern voice. "Let me try something."

Determination showed in the chain-smoker's visible ocean blue eye. Luffy held his hand on his hat and smiled, nodding in approval. The rest stepped back, awaiting the outcome. Zoro stood cautious and held his swords out just in case. The blonde stood in front of the creature and made a gesture with his hands.

"We're not the ones you're after!" He then pointed to the stone door that blocked further entry to the cavern.

"She's in there. Lani... She's waiting for you to come back!"

The crew stood absolutely dumbfounded. Not only was what he said shocking, but the creature stilled as well!

"She knows it wasn't your fault. And it wasn't you she couldn't forgive! It was those shitty bastards that stole you!"

"Sanji..." Nami began.

There they stood, staring at the monster that Sanji had just presumed was actually Koro. It made no movement, and it seemed like hours before it actually did begin to move. Slowly trudging to the wall, it placed a tentacle-vine on it. What came next amazed the Mugiwara pirates. They gazed in awe as the symbols along the wall began to glow a rich shade of blue. Immediately following that was a magnificent light that enveloped the monster. The crew blocked the sight from hurting their eyes, and as they returned their gaze, there was no hideous creature in front of them. Instead an apparition of a beautiful woman appeared. She had a warm smile and gorgeous purple hair.

"It really was you." Sanji spoke.

The woman nodded and walked in mid-air towards the group.

"Yes. Thank you so much. Without you, I would have never found a way out of that horrible thing."

Wait were they seeing things? A spirit is actually in front of them! Though it really can't be said that they were surprised, not after Thriller Bark.

"Whoah... Are you a ghost or something lady!" Luffy asked with enthusiasm, a stupid grin plastered on his face.

Koro giggled as she replied. "Something like that."

"Wait, I wanna know something." The swordsman said as he stepped forward, sheathing his katana's.

"Why him?"

That was an excellent question! Why would this spirit suddenly decided that Sanji would be the perfect medium for this? The rest thought about it, and before they could come up with any ideas, the lady spoke again.

"Lani... is very similar to you." She began.

Koro placed a pale hand on the chef's cheek and caressed it.

"She had blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes too..." She continued with a smile.

"And like you, she too was afraid of taking certain risks. Those risks I will not name, but if you are willing to take them, you can also have a chance."

"A... chance?" Sanji whispered.

"She is waiting for me." She spoke and closed her eyes.

Upon retracting her hand, Koro stepped away from the group.

"Thank you once again, I will never forget this." She said as she drifted through the stone wall.

"What... just happened?" Usopp asked with his mouth slightly agape.

"Hold on now! We fought our way through this stupid cavern, saved a spirit, and there's still no gem in my hand!" The red-head fumed with her fists to her sides. This would be comical to the average person gathering that steam came out of her in every direction as she stomped her foot, but every crew member knew too well that Nami was not a force to be reckoned with when she throws one of her temper tantrums.

Her stomping came to an immediate halt though as everyone suddenly began to feel the earth beneath them shake rather violently. Loud cracking noises drifted across the area as the enormous door began to crumble to the floor. After the dust in the air faded, the navigator looked closer to see a glowing red light. Her mood suddenly swung as she wiggled with joy and clapped her hands together, her eyes once again taking the form of that of a beri sign.

"Ah! I knew our hard work would pay off!" She said excitingly.

_So you didn't think just a few seconds ago, witch..._ Zoro thought to himself with a grunt.

"Agh! Now what!" Usopp yelled as the floor once again began to rumble and shake.

This time was different though, as everything around them began to fall apart! The stone fell off its resting place and rolled to the side of the room it was in. Upon looking at the ceiling, Chopper pointed out that a crack of light was being shown at the top. This proved that there was still a way out, and that's the chance the crew needed to take.

"Grab the stone!" Nami yelled while running around debris that had been created.

The moment the cook had been waiting for! He ran after the room with all his might, jumping over the stone pieces and then towards the ruby stone as the rest followed as fast as they could. The gem laid on the icy ground, a brilliant glow surrounding it. The ocean blue eyed chef reached out in desperation for the glowing entity, gaining a closing distance with each passing second, only to have his goal crushed as a stalactite came between himself and the stone, shattering on the floor. Before he had the chance to regain his composure, the gem was swiped off the ground in a flash.

"Come on!" The captain called as he was found above an opening in the ceiling.

He stretched out his arm and wrapped it around Zoro and Sanji, lifting them to safety above ground. The others were pulled out as well and they found themselves in the forest where they previously were. Sanj rubbed his head after being tossed to the ground and stood up. Zoro followed suit and the crew ran away from the tremor beneath their feet. After retreating to a safe area, they stood around each other.

"Phew!" Usopp sighed as he wiped sweat from his forehead.

"Tell me about it." Franky said as he fixed his hair.

"Okay, where is it?" Nami inquired holding her hand out.

Oh how against Sanji the world was. He could only stare and hide the horror that was inside him as none other than Zoro held the stone in front of the group. He stood across from the blonde and had a stoic expression as he just gripped the stone and looked at it for a few moments, almost as if it were telling him something. _What?... _The chef's heart nearly stopped as a cracking sound came from the gem. _N-no way..._Sanji's expression became slightly more livid as cracks formed all over the stone. And then... It shattered.

Everyone froze, all dumbstruck. Nami's eyes nearly bulged from her head as her chin hit the floor. Again, another comical sight to the average eye. Only this time, she blew a freaking fuse.

"YOU IDIOT!" Nami spouted, venom dripping on her words. She stomped up to the baffled swordsman and grabbed him by his collar.

"How could you do this to me!" She began to violently shake Zoro back and forth while shouting profanities.

"You-witch! I-didn't- do- any-thing!" He replied between shakes.

"Then how the hell do you explain that!" The red-head pointed angrily at the shattered pieces on the ground.

"How the hell should I know!" The man raised his voice and gestured to himself.

"It just... broke." Was all he could say.

"Debt... twenty-thousand beri." The greedy navigator said with a low tone before forcing her grip off the swordsman.

"What? You crazy bitch I didn't do any-" He cut himself off as the 'bitch' glared daggers at him with a very grim look.

"Che. Whatever." The green-haired man crossed his hands and looked away, obviously pissed.

The rest of the crew sighed and hung their heads, except Sanji that is. He just stood completely still the whole time. _He...knows. _The blonde repetitively said to himself. _Shit!_ Quickly looking for some means of comfort, he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, hand slightly trembling. The nicotine filled his lungs and as he exhaled, he became a bit calmer.

"Let's go back to the ship." Luffy said as cheerfully as he could.


	6. Chapter 6

Yes it is complete!... After soooo long XD I apologize for such a long wait, but here it is! Thank you everyone who gave this story a chance :) I like sharing stories with you 3

Sanji could not feel any worse than he did the moment that stone shattered, or so he thought. Following the return of the crew, the blonde immediately retreated to his sanctuary, the kitchen, in order to prepare dinner. Of course, this could have really just been used as an excuse to avoid everyone's, especially that Marimo's, attention, as the cook was not in the best of moods. After the call for dinner had been announced, everyone sat together as usual at the dining table. Everyone seemed to have gotten over the loss of the precious treasure, making dinner-time a lot more comfortable. The gluttonous captain tried aiming for the others' plates as Usopp told his brave tale of conquering the beast of some place at some time in the past, in which the rest, not including Chopper and Luffy, obviously saw through as a lie.

Sanji began to ease up a bit upon seeing his crew mates enjoying dinner together. He was glad Nami managed to forgive the idiot for the gem breaking, although, really, it wasn't Zoro's fault the thing decided to obliterate into hundreds of shards! Sanji tried not to make eye contact with the green-haired man but ended up failing instead. Unfortunately, Sanji's apparent glances were caught by Zoro, who decided to return the last one. The cook's heart began to pound in his chest immediately and as much as he wanted to, he could not break the stare himself. And just like that, the chef's heart sank as Zoro gave him a somewhat perplexed look. His face turned a shade of red-perhaps out of anger?- and as far as Sanji could tell, that was not a good thing. Zoro snapped his head away from the blonde. The poor Mugiwara chef could only see that as an act of being in disgust, and as soon as he finished his meal, Sanji got up and excused himself from the table until the others had finished.

After that, Sanji tried his very best to avoid any contact with Zoro. Most of his time would be spent in the kitchen or with the ladies, in which he would inevitably be pushed away from anyway, but he didn't mind. He never was too open with his feelings with the crew, and even then that did not change. Nothing seemed wrong with the blonde, but there was one thing that the rest seemed to have noticed. There was no bickering, no insults, no clashing or thrashing either, and this seemed to upset what balance, if there even was one, there was on the Mugiwara ship. This 'unbalance' remained for a few days, that is, until Sanji finally decided that this nonsense had to end. It wasn't like he didn't already expect to be shot down, but still, the thought of it remained quite unpleasant. The fourth night was Zoro's watch, and the perfect opportunity to tell the Marimo everything that was on that mind of his.

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After dinnertime had passed, everyone began to go to their bunk-rooms. Sanji, of course, stayed with the excuse of fixing up the kitchen. When the chain-smoker deemed the rest to be asleep, he gradually made his way to the galley door. Said door, though, decided it would be more fun to swing open on its own and scare the crap out of the chef, making him jump nearly five feet back in surprise.

"Luffy!" the chef called out through pure reflex, as he was well used to the rubber man trying to sneak night-time snacks. Though to Sanji's surprise, it wasn't Luffy who came into the galley, but Zoro!

The blonde immediately regained his composure, trying to put off his most average expression.

"Jeez, thanks for the warning Moss-head," the thinner man stated as he pulled out a cigarette. Rather than give a reply, Zoro simply stood there and glared at the other man. Soon, Sanji started to feel a little uneasy. He knew this was coming though, so he opted to just go through with it.

"Listen Zo-"

Why the hell are you avoiding me, cook?" Zoro decided to cut the other off. He crossed his arms, and his face was stern. Sanji became a bit dumbfounded at that, as he was expecting a different reply.

"W-what?" he asked, cigarette dangling from between his lips.

"You heard me," the swordsman began. "I know you're trying to avoid me and, quite frankly, it kind of pisses me off. So if you've got a problem then go ahead and tell me now."

Now it was Sanji's time to speak."Che, as if you don't already know," the cook began with a cool tone.

"Know what?" Zoro inquired while raising a brow. Sanji, now, became rather irritated. It was one thing to get rejected, but the idiot didn't have to act like an ass in the process!

"You know damn well what, Idiot-marimo!" The chef raised his fists at his sides.

"That stupid stone! And what it showed you!" the blonde yelled with a more whispered tone. He pointed at the other man as he said this. Zoro swatted his hand away with a 'hmph'.

"The hell you smoking?" the golden-eyed man asked with an irritated tone. Sanji slowly retracted his hand, his visible blue eye widening a little. What if-?

"You mean... The stone didn't do anything?" Sanji asked in disbelief. Relief started to come back to him. After a few long moments though, Zoro gave a sly grin.

"Why?" he asked, clearly amused by what the cook had just told him."Was it suppose to?"

That smile of his did not fade, but the chef's relief did. And it was not until this point where he had realized that, yes, Zoro was toying with him, and, yes, Zoro was being a complete ass about it. Sanji's face couldn't help but heat up as he spoke.

"You... You freaking ass!" the blonde exclaimed. He bit his lip a bit and turned his face away from the other man. "It doesn't even matter..." Sanji whispered. He turned around and began to walk away when suddenly, he felt a grip on his arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"You idiot," Zoro stated as he jerked the other back towards him. "It matters to me." The swordsman's expression became rather serious, and Sanji was at a loss for words.

"Listen... I talked to Robin earlier about the whole 'stone breaking' crap," Zoro began. "I figured she'd know something, and it turns out that the stone breaking means its job was fulfilled or something like that." He pulled his hand back and scratched the back of his head.

"And... well... I've never been good at dealing with this sorta stuff, but you remember what I tried telling you while we were in that cavern?" The blonde nodded his head as a response, his heart pounding so hard he was afraid it would blast right through his chest.

"I... I just need to be direct with this kinda thing," the tanner man sighed. His voice began to slowly fade though as Sanji started to hear the beating of his own heart take over instead. And that was when it was said.

"I actually really like you."

The words were spoken with a bit of hesitance, but as long as Zoro got it out he was finally relieved. Sanji's heart skipped a beat as his cigarette fell out from between his lips and did several flips before finally landing on the galley floor. He nonchalantly stepped on it out of habit while trying to form words.

"You... what?" the chain-smoker asked.

"At first... I didn't really pay much attention to my feelings," Zoro confessed. "but after Thriller Bark... I dunno, it just hit me straight in the face, like a brick... or something... Heh." He chuckled nervously as he spoke.

What was Sanji to say? What could he say? He was so damn happy, the thought of even forming a proper sentence didn't quite enter that mind of his. And what happened to that cocky attitude Zoro had less than five minutes ago? The blonde guessed everyone did have a shy side, including idot-marimo-heads.

"So... The stone did show you something?" Sanji asked intelligibly.

"No," Zoro replied. "It just gave me a feeling, like of relief. It was really strong, and I decided I might as well just go with what I felt. Che, the only reason I even wanted the stupid gem was so you couldn't get your hands on it and find out about my little secret."

With that said, Sanji's blue eye widened, and soon after a small smile grew on his face. Following this was some giggling, and then laughter just abruptly left his body. He bent over and held his stomach in the process as he practically laughed his ass off.

"Huh? What's your problem, cook?" Zoro said as his face turned a shade of pink.

"N-nothing!" the other end replied while wiping a tear from his eye. "It's just..." He stood up properly, and the chef gave the brightest smile in the world. "I tried the same exact thing!"

Zoro couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. Such a beautiful smile formed on Sanji's lips that he soon found himself smiling too. They both laughed with each other, thinking what fools they were for not figuring this nonsense out sooner. This was so much for the chef to take in, not that he really minded at this point! The sound of their laughter began to cease though as Zoro gradually made his way into Sanji's personal space.

Slowly, Zoro brought his hand up to the side of the chef's red cheek. Sanji suddenly got a chill, and he leaned into the touch. While the blonde may not have exactly known if Zoro was the romantic- or even lovey-dovey- type, he sure the hell was. The swordsman most likely already noticed this, along with the rest of their crazy crew, which was why he made very careful and affectionate movements. His calloused tan fingers threaded Sanji's curtain of hair, and caressed downwards past his soft pale skin. Zoro felt the other's heat beneath his fingertips, and as they reached the bottom where his stubble was, Zoro cupped Sanji's chin. Both their eyes became half lidded, and soon, they closed as they shared their first kiss with each other.

_I was right..._ Sanji thought to himself. _His lips are soft... _He indulged himself in the moment of bliss, wrapping his arms around the other man in the process. His thin fingers tangled in Zoro's short green hair as Zoro wrapped his own arms around the other man's slender waist. Sanji suddenly felt something slick caress his bottom lip and, knowing right away what was to come next, opened his mouth for easy access to the first mate's tongue. Their tongues mingled within the heat of their mouths. Sanji, Zoro had noticed, tasted the same way his cigarettes smelled, but as unpleasant as that may have seemed, Zoro could also taste spices, which made it an odd yet favorable flavor. _How fitting..._ he briefly thought.

Suddenly feeling a bit more daring, Zoro brought his right hand to Sanji's front. He placed it flat on Sanji's chest, right above his heart. He couldn't even keep count of how many beats it made before he dragged his hand away and towards the black blazer's buttons. The blonde's heart skipped a beat for the second time that night as he allowed Zoro to slip the piece of clothing off, letting it fall carelessly to the floor in the process. Sanji had never thought the swordsman could have such a loving side to him. Every move he made was precise, cautious, and, most surprisingly, gentle. The blue-eyed man shivered a bit under the touch as he thought about it.

Zoro pulled him into a tight embrace as he noticed the shiver that ran through Sanji's body.

"... Nervous?" he whispered into the paler man's ear. Sanji gasped slightly from the sudden breath, then snickered as a response.

"Heh..." he let out as he looked into the other's golden eyes with a grin. "Course not. After all, you are just a marimo." he finished. Whether Zoro was being gentle and kind or not, he was still the same competition Sanji loved. As if he would allow the marimo-head to get the upper-hand so easily. Zoro stared at him for a brief moment before pulling off a grin of his own.

"Oh really?"

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The day after, the two didn't say or do much. This was probably from the exhaustion of the night before. One just could not let the other dominate them so it became more of competition. At least that was a good thing considering their rivalry helped define them as a pair. Most of the crew were still curious as to why Zoro and Sanji had been behaving so oddly, but the silence and atmosphere around them was no longer tense. Everyone felt comfortable again, and Luffy started playing tag on the ship with Usopp and Chopper. Usopp was it and ran frantically trying to catch them. It was luck that lead him into accidentally running into their captain around a corner. They fell on the ground from the impact and rubbed their heads. Directly afterward, they began laughing hysterically. Nami paused from watering her garden to look. She shook her head and chuckled.

"Dummies..." she stated to herself.

"Ahahaha! I'm it! I win!" Luffy exclaimed as he through his hands in the air. Usopp threw him a hand gesture and furrowed his brows in annoyance. "You moron!" he began. "Being it doesn't make you the winner. It just means it's your turn to chase us!" the sharpshooter concluded. Luffy made a disgruntled look.

"That's not what I was taught! Ace told me that when I was it, I won the game. Then I'd let him and the others finish playing!" The straw-hat said with a grin on his face. Usopp's head fell. _I bet you were just too annoying to want to play with back then. _He briefly thought. He told Luffy the proper way to play, and after that Luffy chased him around the ship with a stupid grin plastered on his face.

Zoro had finally awoken from his daily nap and looked around the visible area. He noticed Sanji wasn't anywhere to be found and figured it was probably almost time for lunch. He got up, stretched, and walked lazily through the galley door. As he thought, the chef was busy making the crew lunch. Zoro wanted to see Sanji, but his mind told him booze seemed to be more important at the moment. He slowly made his way to the wine rack, only to have a leg thrown in his direction.

"Don't even start with me Marimo..." Sanji warned. Zoro looked at his with a slightly irritated look. Quickly after though, he grinned a bit. Sanji's eyebrow quirked up. _What's he smiling for?_ He thought before Zoro interrupted his thought process. The green-haired swordsman's boots made loud thuds as he made his way to the cook. He grasped him and whispered in his ear. "Oh I'll start with you, if you know what I mean." The blonde's cheeks went red, and he shoved Zoro away.

"Che! As if I'd let you have the upper-hand!" the chef said with an annoyed tone. As a reply, Zoro smiled devilishly. He licked his lips.

"Is that a challenge?"


End file.
